Live: Chainsmokers in Washington DC

Fans swarmed to Brooklyn recently, to watch Lennon Stella, 5 Seconds of Summer and the Chainsmokers perform at the Barclays Center for a night full of perfectly performed songs, lasers and lots of theatrics. The highly anticipated stop on the World War Joy North American tour began with Canadian singer Lennon Stella kicking off the night with a 30-minute performance. Off the bat, Stella mesmerized the crowd with her hypnotic song “Breakaway” from her 2018 EP Love, Me. Stunning graphics and bright lights brought Stella home as she performed her latest single “BITCH (takes one to know one)” and fan favorite “La Di Da” to close out her set. Shortly after, Austrialian pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer took the stage and immediately brought fans to their feet with their hit single, “She Looks So Perfect.” The band – consisting of lead-man Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood and drummer Ashton Irwin – brought old school stage presence back into fashion with suit jackets, boots and black & white monitors. The band played a healthy mix of songs from their latest collection Youngblood, sophomore album Sounds Good Feels Good and recent radio hits, such as “Teeth.” The quartet even paid tribute to Blink-182 with a brief “What’s My Age Again?” cover, and were given the official thumbs up from Blink-182 bassist and singer, Mark Hoppus, in a video played on stage telling the boys to “not fuck it up.” However, the crowd went truly wild when the main event hit the stage – the overwhelmingly popular electronic duo, the Chainsmokers. The hour and a half long performance from Drew Taggart and Alex Pall consisted of insane pyrotechnics, Taggart climbing new heights (literally) motorcycles, guest performances and high energy. The duo performed their multiple radio hits “Roses” “Call You Mine” “Don’t Let Me Down” and more. The 90-minutes set was full of surprises, including the band giving New York an exclusive listen to their unreleased single “Push My Luck.” Fans cheered for guest performances including Stella dueting with Taggart on “Takeaway” and all four members of 5 Seconds of Summer re-entering the stage to battle it out on “Who Do You Love.” However, the biggest surprise for fans was when Sheck West joined the stage mid-set to perform mega-hit “Mo Bomba,” which brought the crowd to a ear-shattering roar. To close it out, Chainsmokers, of course, ended with the 2016 radio smash hit you couldn’t escape, and still can’t: Closer. Starting with Taggart giving fans a last thank you for the night and the past 10+ years of his career, the duo broke down the electronic song to a piano ballad, slowly building until reaching the full, catchy beat drop – confetti and all. -Alyssa Rotunno